Water softener and RO

[Toolmanbmw]

Hi all

I am new to this SW stuff. I have FW that is running great so far. I was just wondering if anyone know if my water from the water softener than RO would be ok for a reef aquarium? Since all the calcium been taken out... Do I need to add more calcium to the water after? Whats the easliest way to do this? Thanks in advance.

 

[adeebm]

Whatever reef salt mix you use contains all the minerals your saltwater needs. That's why it's best to use pure(RO) water with the mix. If you can't get RO or at least distiller water, I'd use dechlorinated tap water over softened water.

RO is best for a reef. You might have algae problems later on if you don't use RO. Also if your tap water has heavy metals, it can be serious for corals.

--Adeeb

 

[Gti_Leo]

i have a softener that the whole house is on and then i have an RO/DI. all the softener really does is add a bit of salt to the water to filter things out, it often pulls a bit of salt with the water which will get filtered out by the RO membrane

 

[Toolmanbmw]

Ahh great. That's the same setup I have. I will be using an RO to filter the water after the softener. So as long as I use the proper salt mix, I will have the proper mineral in the water for a reef tank? Thanks.

 

[Gti_Leo]

yep thats it